Statement of the Provision for the Poor, and of the Condition of the Labouring Classes in a Considerable Portion of America and Europe / Being the preface to the foreign communications contained in the appendix to the Poor-Law Report

by Nassau William Senior

Besides the before-mentioned institutions, there are also various places, unions, and societies, the intentions of which are to grant relief in some way or other; namely, some for the relief of very indigent poor; others for granting relief to poor lying-in-women; and the commissions or societies which during the winter distribute provisions and fuel.

For the twelve years from 1820 to 1831, the receipts of the administration for the established charity houses, and those of the hospitals, taken on an average for each year, amount together;

			Guilders.
1. The revenues of properties and acknowledged rights			2,461,883	26
2. Proceeds of collections			1,320,551	48
3. Subsidies granted by
a. The parishes	1,779,719	67
b. The provinces of the State	38,642	78
			1,818,362	45
Making	Guilders		5,600,797	19
By which all the disbursements of these institutions are covered.
And if to the above-mentioned sum are added, for the same period of twelve years, the following, viz.:
1. For the local workhouses and charitable houses of industry:
a. Revenues of properties			7,458	50
b. Collections			7,971	63
c. Subsidies of the parishes			99,083	87
2. For the new erected beggars’ workhouses:
a. Daily wages paid by the parish for the beggars placed therein			41,090	40
b. Provincial subsidies			871	49
3. For the society for charitable purposes:
a. Contributions and voluntary donations by individuals			48,893	55
b. Monies for stipulated contracts			208,651	69
Consequently, the whole sum is		Guilders	6,014,818	32

It appears from this statement that rather more than 6,000,000 guilders (equal, at 20d. the guilder, to 500,000l. sterling) has, on an average of the last 12 years, been annually expended on the relief of the poor, being an expense per head, on an average population of 2,292,350, of about 4s. 4¼d.—an expenditure small compared with our own, but very large when compared with the average expenditure of Europe.

The official report does not state the progressive increase of the annual expenditure; but it contains a table of the progressive increase of the number of persons receiving relief, from which we extract the particulars of the 10 years ending with 1831. (p. 580.)

HOLLAND.—Statement of the Number of Persons who have received Relief, or to whom Work has been given, by the Civil or Ecclesiastical Charitable Institutions in North Netherland, during 10 years, from 1822 to 1831 inclusive.

	Population of North Netherland on the 31st Dec.	Institutions for Relief.			INSTITUTIONS FOR GIVING OR PROCURING WORK.												General Total Persons who have received Relief, or to whom Work has been given.	Statement for the Population of North Netherland of 100 Persons.
		Number of Persons relieved by the direction of the Poor-House.	Population of the Hospitals.	Number of Persons.	Number of Persons who have worked in and for the local Workhouses and Charitable Workplaces.			Population of Paupers’ Workhouses.			Population of the Colonies, and Establishments of the Society for Charitable Purposes.					Number of Persons.		Of the Total Number of Persons relieved or maintained by the Institution for granting Support.	Of the Total of Persons by the Institution for providing Work.	Of the general Total of Persons who have participated in the Relief, or to whom Work has been given.
					Fed and lodged in the Institutions.	Those only who have worked in the same, or at their own Houses.	Together.	At Hoorn.	At Veere.	Together, or in the whole.	Poor Families making the number of Persons.	Orphans, Foundlings, or abandoned Children.	Beggars.	Persons, Veterans’ families, making together.	Together, or in the whole.
1822	2,190,171	174,802	20,501	195,303	id.	id.	3,227	750	..	750	1,979	456	300	..	2,735	6,712	202,015	8,914	0,306	9,220
1823	2,219,982	193,633	17,430	211,063	id.	id.	4,358	750	273[10]	1,023	2,295	475	1,053	..	3,823	9,202	220,265	9,507	0,415	9,922
1824	2,253,794	196,786	19,955	216,741	id.	id.	4,271	700	200	900	2,614	1,214	1,061	..	4,889	10,060	226,801	9,617	0,446	10,063
1825	2,281,789	240,400	17,943	222,343	862	2,982	3,844	323	136	459[11]	3,227	2,174	1,377	..	6,778	11,081	233,424	9,744	0,486	10,230
1826	2,296,169	227,501	18,731	246,232	920	3,199	4,119	380	82[12]	462	2,724	2,233	1,581	231	6,769	11,350	257,582	10,724	0,494	11,218
1827	2,307,661	232,426	19,775	252,201	670	4,001	4,671	378[13]	..	378	2,560	2,059	1,763	401	6,783	11,832	264,033	10,929	0,513	11,442
1828	2,329,934	217,343	17,928	235,271	607	4,017	4,624	..	..	..	2,510	2,358	1,826	562	7,256	11,880	247,151	10,098	0,510	10,608
1829	2,427,206	235,771	17,884	253,655	672	4,077	4,749	..	..	..	2,626	2,340	1,942	543	7,451	12,200	265,855	10,450	0,503	10,953
1830	2,444,550	244,503	17,870	262,373	733	4,263	4,996	..	..	..	2,619	2,288	2,111	473	7,491	12,487	274,860	10,733	0,511	11,244
1831	2,454,176	248,380	17,887	266,267	973	4,637	5,610	..	..	..	2,694	2,297	2,406	456	7,853	13,463	279,730	10,849	0,549	11,398

OBSERVATIONS.

General Observations.—Although the persons who have only worked in or for the charitable work-places, and are not lodged or fed in them, are probably already included amongst the number of those who have been relieved by the direction of the Poor-house; it was, however, thought proper not to exclude them from this Table, because the expenses of procuring work belong likewise to these persons.